France Endures Its Hottest Summer Since Records Began in 1900

France’s June-July-August 2026 season averaged 24 °C (75.2 °F), 3.6 °C above the long-term normal and higher than the 2003 heatwave, according to the national weather service Météo France. The agency notes the summer was the second driest on record, with rainfall down about 40 %.

France Records 53 Days of Heat Waves This Summer

Météo France logged 53 heat-wave days across three episodes, eclipsing the previous record of 33 days in 2022. The first episode ran June 17 – June 30, the most intense since meteorological records began. Subsequent waves spanned July 4 – July 19 and July 28 – August. Director Virginie Schwarz described the tally of hot days as “really exceptional.”

France Records 53 Days of Heat Waves This Summer

The prolonged heat contributed to more than 7,300 excess deaths, a provisional figure that remains below the 15,000 deaths recorded in the 2003 summer. Drought-driven wildfires burned forests near Bordeaux and forced about 250,000 people to evacuate, with a gate and villa destroyed in Cotignac. Europe continues to warm at twice the global average since the 1980s, per the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

France records its hottest summer since measurements began over a century ago

Environment Minister Monique Barbut presented the climate report, emphasizing the need for stronger mitigation and adaptation policies. Meteo France highlighted the unprecedented number of days above 40 °C and warned that the heat-wave definition—average temperature above 25.3 °C falling below 23.4 °C for two consecutive days—was breached far more often than in typical summers.

France Records 53 Days of Heat Waves This Summer

• “We have experienced the hottest summer ever recorded since measurements began in 1900,” — Environment Minister Monique Barbut

France records its hottest summer since measurements began over a century ago

• “Now, the question we must ask ourselves is how will this be remembered? Will it be remembered as the first in a long series that will continue to break records, or as a moment that allowed us to face the challenges of adaptation and mitigation?” — Monique Barbut, environment minister

France Records 53 Days of Heat Waves This Summer